I am not for helmet to helmet hits. Fines and suspensions? The problem comes with intent. If a player intends to make helmet to helmet contact, suspend him. But the game is so fast, who knows if the hit was intentional? Look at the subjectivity of the officals calling the game. In the Steelers game, VY got picked up and thrown into the ground head/helmet first and no flag. So what happens when Polamaulou(favored team) and Finny(dirty team) make a helmet to helmet hit on a player? Who gets tossed for a week?
This post was edited by Number9 on 10/20/2010 at 10:04 AM
Listen we teach kids growing up playing football that you hit with your facemask to the top of your forehead and drive through the ball carrier. Now all of a sudden your saying if any part of your helmet touches them then that's a penalty. That's crazy! The only fines or suspensions that should happen is when the player cannot see what he's hitting. Meaning his eyes are looking at the ground and he landing the hit with the top of his head.
The is a rediculous overreaction. If you take the hits out of the NFL I promise the rating will start to drop. We cannot stop concussions. I agree wiht the defenseless receiver rule but when you start to try and determine intent of a hit. that is a very slippery slope.
I agree that it all comes down to intent. I think the NFL opened up a cans of worms by handing down fines yesterday. I don't agree with it, but odds are Finny gets tossed before Polamaulu does.
I hate to say it but Polamaulu does not have a reputation for being a dirty player. Where as Finnegan is always getting up people faces and causeing issues which draws unwanted attention to himself. Why can't Finnegan just play? I find myself yelling at the TV everytime he gets a stupid penalty. So yes the NFL has proven that they we be easier on players who obey the rules.
Football hasn't changed much. Hard hits are a part of the game. No one wants to see a player get seriously injured, but the violent collisions are part of what makes the sport popular. It's the reason football is far more popular than, say tennis. Something should be done about the obvious dirty and extremely late hits, but it's hard to legislate what was a player's intent on a helmet-to-helmet hit.
TitanInsider: Any closer and you'd be in the huddle.
I like to see good clean hits but it seems that in the past few years you have more players leaving their feet and launching themselves at people. Most of the time its receivers who are concentrating on the ball. Leading with your shoulder is one thing but leading with your head aiming at a player who doesn't see you is something else. I think you can tell when someone is trying to hurt someone else and that's the person who should get the biggest penalty. I don't think we have to worry about Cortland because I don't think he's hit anyone in 2 weeks.
What's your take on helmet-to-helmet hits?